Scarleteen

I swim regularly on a team and just miss the days on which I have a period, but I want to start using tampons. Problem is, the last time I tried using a tampon, it felt incredibly painful (to both insert and take out), uncomfortable to do anything in, and started leaking after a few hours. I'm just incredibly uncomfortable with placing anything near my regions now. Any advice?

I'm sure you'll get more advice, but I thought I'd chime in with what I know.

First, use the smallest possible one for your flow level. I don't know if they still make them, but I have seen extra small one designed for younger people.

Second, using a bit of lubricant is a good idea.

In my experience, you usually only feel a tampon if it's not inserted deeply enough, or if it gets too wet. You probably will have to change it as soon as you get out of the water.

Of course, there are plenty of people that dislike tampons no matter what, so there are other options. I haven't had much luck with them in the past, but a lot of people do like menstrual cups.

Before this painful experience with a tampon put you off, how comfortable (or not) did you feel with touching your own genitals? How familar or comfortable are/were you generally with inserting anything - for example, your own finger - into your vagina?

When you put the tampon in and took it out, were you tense? Tension usually causes the vaginal muscles to tighten and close up, and can make inserting anything difficult and painful. Putting a tampon in can take a bit of experimenting to find out what suits you best: the position you're in can make a real difference, for example, some people find it easier to do while putting one foot up on the edge of the toilet or bath, or by squatting slightly.

If you found it uncomfortable while it was in, it's possible that it wasn't far enough inside you. The entrance to the vagina is pretty sensitive, and there's a ring of muscle around there, so if something's in the way it tends to be uncomfortable and painful. Further inside the vagina is a lot less sensitive, and most people will hardly feel or won't feel at all a tampon that's further inside. If/when you want to try a tampon again, you'll want to make sure you push it in far enough, fully past the ridge of bone and muscle that's just inside the vagina.

If a tampon starts leaking after a few hours, that probably means it's absorbed everything that it can, and it needs to be changed.

To add to the great advice already posted here: it could potentially be helpful to use a tampon that comes with an applicator because the applicator can help ensure that the tampon is inserted far enough. I don't know whether tampons are commonly sold with applicators in your region (they're relatively rare in mine), but that might help if you're unsure about whether the tampon had been inserted correctly.

To add even more to the great advice already posted here, I was actually going to recommend tampons without applicators! As I was about to type that, I saw LandUnderWave had suggested tampons with applicators--a great reminder that every body and menstrual cycle is different!

I had a lot of struggle with tampons when I began using them too. For many years I used just pads (I couldn't figure out where to put the tampons in, I was worried I didn't really have a "vagina hole"). When I did try tampons, I experienced a lot of pain--looking back I realize it was because, like "Atonement" mentioned, the tampons weren't inserted far enough in. For me, practicing putting my finger inside my vagina (which I had never done before), was a helpful first step. And then I tried OB tampons, with no applicator. To this day, I still can't use tampons with applicators! I can't manage to get them far enough in...

Good luck as you explore these options and ideas, and figure out what works best for you!